Western Silent Films Lobby Cards Collection

Hoot Gibson in "King of the Rodeo" with Kathryn Crawford (1929, Lobby Card). From the Western Silent Films Lobby Cards Collection at the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University. "...These lobby cards and publicity fliers include both photographic and artistic renderings of scenes and characters from the films being publicized, and often prominently display the names of actors and film studios. Lobby cards were introduced in the 1910s to complement movie posters and were designed for display in the lobbies or foyers of movie theaters. These eponymous artifacts were intended to lure pedestrians into the theater by advertising dramatic, key scenes from the movie or highlighting popular actors."